Planting will soon be getting underway, and after a long day’s work in the field, a hearty meal is just the fix. Here is a recipe for Pork Chop and Stuffing Casserole. The combination of tender pork chops and vegetables makes this a great suppertime option on a brisk spring evening!
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Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds
Bring a Hint of Spring to Your Breakfast Table
Here we are mid-February and with this recent taste of warm weather, I am ready for Spring! Here’s a recipe that I love to make for my family. The fresh taste of fruit and the warm gooey french toast is the perfect start to your day!
Have a favorite breakfast recipe of your own? Share it with us in the comment box below!
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Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds
Cavatelli-An Italian Mealtime Favorite
Cavatelli is another casserole favorite in my family. I like to prep meals for the week ahead of time when meetings and kids activities keep us on the run. This casserole can be thrown together ahead of time and kept in the refrigerator until you need it.
I’m always looking for new recipe ideas, share your favorites with us in the comment box below!
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Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds
Hot Treat for a Cold Day
Here is a recipe for some hot cranberry punch. Perfect to help warm up on a cold winter day. The recipe was submitted to us from one of our farmer customers in Hampton, Iowa. Thank you for sharing this recipe with us!
I love to serve this at New Year’s Parties. Hope you can enjoy it as much as we do! Happy New Year!
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Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds
Quick Fix Suppers
With the kids getting more and more involved with school and extra curricular activities, I am always looking for quick fix meals I can prepare for supper before games and meetings in the evening. This recipe for sloppy joes is one that the kids love, and the leftovers are great for later on in the week.
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Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds
Soups that warm the heart
These recipes were submitted by one of our Latham dealers in Everly, Iowa. Every Christmas Eve, their family has soup night. Here are a couple of their favorite soup recipes. Perfect on these cold winter nights.
Potato Cheese Soup
Ingredients:
- 6-8 potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 2-3 carrots, sliced
- 1-2 celery stalks, sliced
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1 pkg. (8oz.) cream cheese, softened
- 1/4 c. butter, softened
- 1 can (10 and 3/4 oz.) condensed cream of chicken soup
- 2 c. milk
- salt and pepper to taste
- crumbled bacon
- green onion, diced
- shredded cheddar cheese
Directions:
- Place potatoes, carrots, celery, and onion in large kettle, cover with water.
- Cook until tender, about 15-20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in mixing bowl combine softened cream cheese, butter, and cream of chicken soup. Combine until smooth.
- Gradually add milk, salt and pepper.
- Before adding to vegetables, drain most of the water from kettle, depending how thick you prefer the soup.
- Add creamed mixture to the kettle and heat slowly.
- Before serving, I sprinkle each bowl with a little bacon, green onion and cheddar cheese.
Do you have any of your own soup recipes that “warm the heart”? Share them with us in the comment box below!
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Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds
Mom’s Great Fudge
This is a recipe submitted to us from one of our Latham seed dealers in Hull, Iowa. Thank you for sharing your great recipe with us!
Do you have a great fudge recipe of your own? Maybe another sweet Christmas treat? Share it with us in the comment box below!
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Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds
Premature Plant Death May Prompt New Harvest Strategy
Harvest is drawing near, and I’m optimistic that we will see some great yields. I can’t help but think that we’ll also see more stalk rot and premature plant death due to wet planting conditions, severe storms throughout the growing season, and low rainfall periods in July.
We expect corn plants to begin maturing this time of year, but you may notice that some areas of fields are maturing more quickly. Other areas may even die early. When corn plants don’t live for the full season, they don’t achieve maximum potential yields. Even though the kernels on “prematurely dead plants” display a black layer, the lack of kernel size indicates they reached this stage too soon.
Why do plants and areas of the fields die prematurely this year? While every field is a little different, there is almost always more than one factor involved. Reasons for premature death that I have witnessed this year include: moisture stress, nitrogen loss, anthracnose top-dieback, stalk rot, and wind/hail damage.
Moisture Stress. Generally, corn root development was not good this year because of early season wetness over an extended period. During grain fill, a plant needs a lot of water. Shallow, poorly developed and partially decayed root systems can’t provide enough moisture to keep the plant going especially during hot summer days. This scenario is particularly noticeable in places where there was standing water earlier in the season.
Nitrogen loss. Some plants are showing significant signs of nitrogen deficiency before they die. Wet conditions early in the season have resulted in the loss of nitrogen in many fields or parts of fields, and plants prematurely die because of a severe nitrogen deficiency.
Anthracnose top-dieback. This phase of the anthracnose disease is less common than the typical stalk rot that occurs at the stalk base. With top-dieback, the plant dies from the top down. The upper leaves turn yellow or reddish purple, then dry out. The fungus usually infects through the whorl earlier in the season and remains dormant in the stalks until late in the season. Late-season stress triggers the development of disease symptoms.
Sighting of a yellowed, or purple flag leaf on the corn plant is a key symptom of anthracnose top-dieback. (above). Another key sign will appear during wet conditions. A pink substance will be observed on the stalk (below). Photos courtesy of Iowa State University.Stalk rot. Some plants might die because the base of their stalk is rotted by Gibberella or Fusarium. The onset of these stalk rots is also stress related. When the stalk base is rotted, the whole plant wilts and dies rather suddenly. To see the symptoms, you may need to split the stalk all the way up the base, from below the soil line.
Wind/hail damage. Plants that were damaged by wind and hail earlier in the season are vulnerable to a number of problems that may show up now. Because of the physical damage to leaves, stalks, and roots, these plants are especially likely to suffer from stalk rot or a moisture-stress-related death.
To summarize, all of the stresses have likely contributed to the overall rapid shutdown of photosynthetic leaf area. Given the importance of live, viable leaves and their contribution to the grain filling process, the rapid leaf senescence evident in corn fields this year will likely shave some bushels off the upper limit of yield. Plants suffering from such stress struggle to complete grain fill before they die. As plants stuggle, they often resort to cannibalizing the carbohydrates and nutrients from the leaves and stalks in order to fill the grain. This leads to root and stalk rots.
Obviously there is nothing that can be done now to prevent premature death. However, growers should walk these fields during the next few weeks, monitor the stalk health, and adjust harvest strategies accordingly to manage fields where stalk lodging may be a big problem.